FLORENCE, FIRENZE, WHAT’S NOT TO LIKE!

Livorno, Italy
Aboard Regal Princess
Stateroom C512
Tuesday, November 8, 2022
Sunny, 70F

 So many moving parts! First, we had to take a shuttle from the ship to midtown Livorno (5 euro each, round trip) after arriving in port, then board our prescheduled bus ($33 each) for a ride to Florence, an hour and a half ride.  The bus drop off was the worst ever, it was a half hour walk to the old city of Florence and there was no easy way to tell where we were-landmarks, street signs. The "guide" told us there was no where to drop off passengers in the old city. This would be our pickup area too. Yikes! Thank goodness for the old firefighter—he is very good at directions!

Coffee was our first stop, amongst the pigeons.  The man at the next table said some very bad words in English when his wife did not shoo away the pigeons that landed on the table when he went to pay the bill.  He probably thought no one else spoke English. That was funny to us.

Cafe Scudieri

TK 

Janie

The Cattedral di Santa Maria del Fiore (Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower) was a short walk from the café.  There are churches everywhere, but this is the most famous.

Baptistery with Cathedral and Duomo behind

Closeup of cathedral

 One set of doors was designed by Andrea Pisano between 1424-1452. The door panels depict the 3 theological virtues (hope, faith, charity), the five cardinal virtues (humility, fortitude, temperance, justice, prudence), as well as scenes from the life of St. John the Baptist. Next week when we return I will take photos of the Ghiberti doors, known as the Gates of Paradise.

Pisano doors

Detail

 We continued walking through markets (meat, leather, etc.), the narrow streets filled with people and Vespas, and onto the Ponte Vecchio, a bridge built in 1345, over the Arno River. Soon after the bridge was built, the local government began renting shop space on the bridge, where mostly foodstuffs, such as meat and fish were sold. However, the stench became overwhelming and the shops were converted to mostly goldsmiths and jewelers in the late 16th century. It took them 150 years to smell the stench?? There are only jewelry shops there still today.

Ponte Vecchio over the Arno River

 

So many jewelry shops!!

Markets and shops are everywhere--this is another very metropolitan city. 

Cooler with meat/Market

Breads/Market

Wonderful vegetables. Look closely at the spiny green things at the bottom right.

The young vendor called them bitter melons in English.

What the heck is that and who wold eat it??

Dried fruit

Charcuterie

Soups and sauces served in the market

Another market

There are so many people and languages and motorbikes of all sizes as well as scooters. People walk in the uneven streets and the uneven narrow sidewalks, and one never knows when a bike, motorbike, scooter, car, small bus, or other mode of transportation will be speeding by.  No one seems to know which is sidewalk and which is street either. We were amazed at what seemed like a very dangerous situation to us!!

Random streets--people everywhere, which is the street, which is the sidewalk??

TK wanted to try pizza at a self-serve place—one orders and takes the pizza to a table. He tried a pizza slice with mozzarella and thinly sliced ham, and I had a slice with pepperoni and mozzarella. It was tasty, the pepperoni strong and spicy. The ham was very good.

Piccadilly Bar and Pizza

Pizza in Italy! 

Too soon it was time to meet our bus, so we grabbed a quick gelato (fruits of the forest) along the way.  Great! There is no place but Italy to buy gelato. America, France, not even close.

 It was dark when we arrived at the ship and we headed for dinner—goat cheese souffle and beef medallions for me—very good. TK had Cornish hen. Culinary delight today was sugar free coconut cake.

Sugarfree coconut cake

We are both looking forward to two sea days so we can get into the rhythm of the ship and sea!! 

P.S. Election Day! We already voted in the U.S. election!

Aside to Friend MJ: Happy Birthday!!

TK’s Takes:  There are thousands of pigeons everywhere and he has seen only two flies since we started in Barcelona.

TK: 14,500 steps

Janie:  15,500 steps